{"id":1796,"slug":"rule-quarantine-vendor-ctr-multipliers","title":"R6 — Quarantine vendor CTR / AI-citation multipliers; the only clean primary figure (Nestlé 82%) is single-company and ring-fenced","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["editorial-discipline","ai-search-citations","rich-results-eligibility"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Any \"Xx CTR uplift from structured data\" or \"Yx more likely to appear in AI answers\" claim that does not come from primary search-engine documentation gets quarantined. Use the structured-data recommendation on the **mechanism** ([[google-structured-data-mechanism-recipe-example]], [[google-merchant-listing-distinct-url-per-variant]], [[schema-org-itemlist-listitem-product-types]]), **not** on the inflated multipliers.\n\n**Why:** The only clean primary CTR figure is the Nestlé 82% — one company's self-measurement, RING-FENCED ([[nestle-82-percent-ctr-rich-results-ring-fenced]], [[rule-do-not-generalise-nestle-82-percent]]). The SEO-vendor claims (35% CTR, 2.5x AI, 40% more AI Overview) are quarantined ([[quarantine-vendor-structured-data-ctr-and-ai-multipliers]]). Google itself rejects the \"structured data is a ranking factor\" framing ([[google-rich-results-eligibility-not-guarantee]]).\n\n**How to apply:**\n- When a client cites a vendor CTR multiplier, the response is the mechanism citation, not a counter-multiplier.\n- Internal sales decks / articles / proposals lead with mechanism and eligibility, not numeric uplift claims.\n- The acceptable magnitude citation is Baymard's 67-90% vs 17-33% ([[baymard-list-usability-67-90-vs-17-33-abandonment-2015]]) — independent, primary, with explicit age + scope caveat.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"google-rich-results-eligibility-not-guarantee","title":"Google Search Central — structured data produces eligibility, not a guarantee; does not guarantee rich results even with correct markup","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"nestle-82-percent-ctr-rich-results-ring-fenced","title":"Nestlé 82% higher CTR on rich-results pages — Google's own documentation, attributed to one named company; RING-FENCED, never present as typical","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"baymard-list-usability-67-90-vs-17-33-abandonment-2015","title":"Baymard Institute (2015) — sites with mediocre product list usability saw 67-90% abandonment vs 17-33% for sites with even a slightly optimised toolset","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"quarantine-vendor-structured-data-ctr-and-ai-multipliers","title":"QUARANTINE — \"Pages with structured data earn 35% higher CTR\" / \"2.5x higher chance of appearing in AI answers\" / \"40% more AI Overview appearances\"","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-do-not-generalise-nestle-82-percent","title":"R4 — Do NOT generalise the Nestlé 82% CTR figure; it is one company's self-measurement, never present as typical","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-searchable-structured-catalogue-working-tool-june-2026","title":"Research brief: the searchable, structured catalogue as a working tool — when records-not-prose pays off (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"quarantine-vendor-structured-data-ctr-and-ai-multipliers","title":"QUARANTINE — \"Pages with structured data earn 35% higher CTR\" / \"2.5x higher chance of appearing in AI answers\" / \"40% more AI Overview appearances\"","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"google-rich-results-eligibility-not-guarantee","title":"Google Search Central — structured data produces eligibility, not a guarantee; does not guarantee rich results even with correct markup","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.754Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.754Z"}